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This was also about trust. They were in a dangerous situation, and she needed to trust him to do more than give her an orgasm. She needed to trust him with her life if they wanted to survive.
He crushed her against the wall, slamming his cock in deeper still. He shoved in, tilted out, thinking of nothing beyond making her eyes widen with pleasure. When he submerged completely again and ground against her pelvis, she parted her lips to scream.
He covered them with his own, drinking down the sounds of her release. He wanted those sounds for himself. Always. He’d rip apart any fucker who tried to take her from him.
As she shattered and convulsed, her slick flesh spasming around him, a tingle zipped down his spine. Ecstasy spiraled out of control, poleaxing him. Gabe felt utterly lost, as if some part of him would now and forevermore be a part of this woman. With a hoarse shout, he came, pumping deep inside her. He hated the condom in that moment, wanting absolutely nothing between them.
As the pleasure subsided, his muscles turned to mush. Slowly, he withdrew and let her slide down the shower wall until her feet touched the floor. But she didn’t look much steadier than he felt. His whole body pulsed, replete—for now—but he couldn’t quite make himself move away from her. Gabe didn’t want to stop touching her.
He reached for the soap and turned her so she faced the wall. She leaned back against him, utterly trusting him to not let her go.
“I need you, too,” he whispered against her ear. He moved his hand over her body, worshipping her the way she deserved. The first time might have been rough and quick, but he had the whole night with her. He wasn’t about to waste it.
TEN
I need you, too.
Everly knew they were only words he’d uttered in the aftermath of passion, but everything feminine inside her responded.
As they’d made their way out of the tunnel following their escape from Mad’s house, Gabriel had gripped her hand, leading the way to safety. They’d had to wend through dank, dark tunnels with only one light to make their way through the gloom. Everly had never once worried he would leave her behind.
At Connor’s penthouse, she’d climbed into the shower, trying to hold herself together—not to crave his nearness and protection so much—but she’d been shaking. Every time she’d closed her eyes, she could still feel the flames licking around the room, threatening to consume them. The realization that they had almost died hit her. Then Gabriel had come to her, touched her, wiped all that away with his furious possession. He’d proven why she needed him.
After their hurried coupling, he’d washed her from head to toe, his hands sliding across her skin with tender care. Her adrenaline had finally crashed. And Gabriel had held her while she’d cried. He hadn’t spoken, merely let his touch echo his earlier words.
In that moment, he really did seem to need her, too.
Now, she relaxed in his arms, replete and lulled, as he carried her to the bed. He laid her on the mattress, across soft linens.
Giving herself to Gabriel Bond tonight, however, put her in uncharted territory. She couldn’t pretend that whatever they shared meant nothing but simple pleasure and a way to forget her troubles. They’d admitted they needed one another. If he left her tomorrow morning, she would likely mourn him for the rest of her life because she was absolutely certain she was falling in love.
He opened a drawer in the nightstand and pulled out a box of condoms. Thankful he was ever prepared, Everly blinked at him as he stood above her, raking his hot stare over her splayed body. He paused at her breasts and the juncture of her thighs. That intent gaze should have rattled her, but his blue eyes held such warmth that she couldn’t be anxious, much less gather the will to cover herself. What, exactly, did he see in her? When he looked at her like that, she felt beautiful.
“God, do you have any idea what you do to me, Everly?” His voice sounded thick, raspy.
She had an idea, since his erection stood thick and tall again. No escaping the fact that he aroused her unbearably. A little smile flitted across her lips.
“Of course you do.” He grinned ruefully in return. “Damn, you have the most beautiful breasts I’ve ever seen. Tomorrow morning, call Hilary and tell her to let everyone know that you’re taking the rest of the week off.”
She blushed at the compliment, then realized what the sneaky bastard had done. “I have to go to work, Gabriel. With Mulford on vacation, I’m in charge of all of security. And I’m the executive on duty since Tavia is probably buried with spinning Mad’s death in the press and putting the finishing touches on the upcoming foundation gala. She’s only got Valerie to help, and it’s a lot of work. Besides, after my name has been tossed all around the press, I’m not going to give the people I work with any more reason to gossip that I’m sleeping with the boss.”
She turned over. If they were going to have an actual discussion, she couldn’t do that spread out and naked on the bed. She had to get at least somewhat dressed. Connor’s T-shirt would do.
Before she could reach for it, Gabriel’s hands wrapped around her ankles. He flipped her back over and joined her on the bed, planting one knee between her spread legs. He hovered above her.
“You are sleeping with the boss, and it’s none of their business. I wasn’t joking. Call in tomorrow and take vacation.” He smoothed his hands up her legs. “I like these, too. Every single inch of you is gorgeous.”
“I have responsibilities at work, and last time I looked, seeing to the needs of your penis isn’t part of my job description.”
“I’ll appoint someone else to be the executive on duty. The place can run for a few days without you. Damn, even your toes are pretty. I was never a toe guy until you.” He nipped at the flesh around her polished nails.
It sent shivers up her spine. “Gabriel, I can’t allow this . . . whatever we’re doing together to completely disrupt my professional life. Buttering me up with compliments won’t change my mind.”
“I wasn’t buttering you up. I was gloating because all this pretty flesh is mine.” He kissed his way down her leg. “All fucking mine. By the way, the company is mine, too. You might have forgotten, but I’m not only the boss, I’m your boss. I say you’re taking time off. You won’t be leaving this apartment for a while.”
But she had a date tomorrow to meet the informant who supposedly had the scoop about Maddox’s murder. Of course, this mysterious stranger had also warned her not to get caught in Gabriel’s web, but Everly knew she was fully ensnared. Yes, they’d agreed to be partners in all this, but she still hesitated to tell him about the meeting. Gabriel would disapprove. In fact, he’d probably leave her here with his watchdogs and make contact with the informant himself. That couldn’t happen. She’d been instructed to come alone and didn’t want to risk losing this source in case he had vital information. Everly intended to find out what this person knew, especially if it explained who’d killed her friend, and it exonerated Gabriel.
He had to be innocent. She couldn’t think otherwise, but she also couldn’t give him everything she had. If she did, he would remove her from the investigation. Everyone knew two heads were better than one. He needed her.
He kissed her kneecap, and she couldn’t hold back a shiver. Who would have guessed a person had so many sensitive nerve endings there? As he cradled her hips and breathed over her skin, he derailed her train of thought, which had likely been his plan all along.
“I have a department to run and it doesn’t run itself,” she argued, though her voice sounded a bit more breathless than she’d like. “I can’t disappear indefinitely.”
He dropped to his knees, positioning his mouth right over her pussy. “You’re going to have to because the minute the press finds out you’re in the office, they’ll be all over that building, stirring up trouble. No one will get anything done.”
“I know a thing or two about securing a building. I think I can keep a bunch of nosy reporters out of our workspace.”
“You’re in charge of
cybersecurity. And you can’t monitor every maintenance worker, deliveryman, and temporary office assistant who comes on the premises. Anyone could slide in under false pretenses. Even if you could manage to keep the pesky paparazzi out of the office, they would only hunt down other Crawford employees during their off hours and want to know what sort of on-the-job duties you’re performing. Guess what those folks would say.”
Everly already knew, and none of it was complimentary. She sighed.
“You and I staying away from Crawford’s headquarters right now actually helps productivity and morale.”
Gabriel had a point, damn him. But she needed to get that SD card from her safe. She hadn’t managed to view all the photos and she wanted to study them. “All right. Then I’ll work on things from home. I’ll need someone to pick up my equipment and—oh . . .” She gasped as he leaned in and breathed over the tender mound of her sex. “I can’t think when you do that.”
With a smile, he did it again. “I don’t want you thinking about anything but me.”
As if she could. Since the moment she’d met him, he’d overtaken her every waking thought. If she let him, he would dominate her life. And they’d butt heads because he needed that control. Everly hadn’t allowed anyone to tell her how to live her life since childhood.
He held her down with a firm grip and spread her legs wider, opening her up for his delectation. “This is a beautiful pussy. I wonder what I should do with it.”
